Box Office Analysis

First weekend performance of latest release

5 distinct movies released last week. Two of them were with a reputed starcast [Fight Club, Chingari] and known faces while the remaining three came unannounced [Rafta Rafta - The Speed, Faltu, Aisa Kyon Hota Hai?]. The box office results of each of the 5 movies were as expected though in case of 'Fight Club', it was a little on the lower side.

'Fight Club' was expected to take an above average start at least and the mixed reviews (ranging from average to good) gave an indication that movie may end up being an okay affair at least. As things stand today, the movie is on a shaky ground, though not a disaster in the making and with a stroke of luck may just about to manage to sail through. Still, the overall result is a little below expectations, even though they were not great in the first place.

'Chingaari' has been rejected out rightly by both the audiences and the critics and the film's director (Kalpana Lajmi) has blamed everyone associated with the movie (except for herself) for the movie's failure. Why just the people associated with the movie but she hasn't even spared the society and the money paying audience for the non-performance of the movie! Performances of both Sushmita Sen and Mithun Chakravorty (in that order) have been hailed but the choice of subject and its treatment has come for an all around flak. Result? The movie is on it way to be another commercial failure for Kalpana Lajmi after 'Daman' and 'Kyon?'

'Rafta Rafta - The Speed' and 'Faltu' belonged to two different kinds of cinemas - the former being a hardcore old fashioned masala flick while the latter belonging to art house cinema. No one really bothered to check out the flicks and not many would be surprised if they end their run in one week flat. Ditto for Aryan Vaid's 'Aisa Kyon Hota Hai' that failed to get a proper release and would fade away in oblivion in a matter of days.

Last week's movies

If the poor opening of both 'Holiday' and 'Mixed Doubles' was any indication then things didn't turn any rosy as the week progressed. Both the films have crashed after the first week, especially 'Holiday' that would suffer heavy losses due to a decent budget. While 'Holiday' totaled just around 75 lakhs in the first week (poor), 'Mixed Doubles' was anything better with its total barely crossing 50 lakhs mark. Opening for both the flicks was particularly shocking in Mumbai, which is otherwise considered lucrative for multiplex films. With around 20 lakhs and 5 lakhs approximately for both 'Holiday' and 'Mixed Doubles' respectively from Mumbai, the writing is crystal clear on the wall.

From the past

'Aksar' benefited a lot from its first week collections and though there was around 50% drop in collections in the subsequent week, its overall collections have still been promising enough to make it at a comfortable semi-hit. The movie has now come pretty close to 7.5 crore mark which is quite good for a movie with a mid-level budget. The producers should be able to make further profits with the sales of the songs and movie DVDs as it is a market where Emraan Hashmi/Himesh Reshammiya are in numero uno position. Remember Asshiq Banaya Aapne in which case the movie was an average grosser but the songs and film's DVD continue to sell till date. With 'Aksar' being a far superior product (in comparison with ABA), things are quite rosy for everyone involved with the movie. Emraan Hashmi now has reasons to be excited for the release of his next film 'Gangster' while Reshammiya has the music of 'Shaadi Se Pehle' releasing soon.

'Mere Jeevan Saathi' has turned out into a forgettable fare for each and everyone involved with the film as it completely tanked in the second week. With a fall of over 70% and second week collections in the tune of 50 lakhs, it has turned out to be an utter disaster. The movie has not even managed to touch 2.5 crore and chances are bleak that it would go anywhere farther than this.

'Rang De Basanti' continues to top the charts for 3rd consecutive week and takes a minimal fall (25%) as it moves from 2nd to 3rd week. The movie has now neared 35 crores total and its curve shows a much better sign than last year's biggest hit 'No Entry'. The way RDB is progressing, a 45 crore total is a done thing. Also taking into consideration that there is no film till end of March that could give tough competition to RDB, it could be the sole choice for junta to go for a repeat viewing.

In the future

As Ramesh Sippy's 'Bluffmaster' nears it exit from the theatres after a successful 10 week run, all eyes are on his 'Taxi No. 9211' that arrives this week. Though the movie comes with a good pairing of Nana Patekar and John Abraham, what is baffling is the publicity of the movie that was good but not on-your-face. A movie like this could have been hyped tremendously as it is one of the rare biggies this season but still the makers have chosen to go a little low-key. Still, the movie is expected to take a reasonable start as the vibes are positive. It would be surprising if the movie is not good as whatever Nana has chosen in last 3 years has been good quality stuff and turned into gold.

After 'Mere Jeevan Saathi', yet another dated movie releases this week, 'Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai', with the common factor in both the films as Amisha Patel. Though MJS had some publicity before the release, HTPH comes abruptly and doesn't promise much. There won't be many surprises if the film's fate is in the same lines as MJS! Third release of the week (probably) could be 'Sun Zarra' but with zero publicity, hype, below average music and lack of face value, it doesn't require an Einstein to calculate the film's fate.